January 18, 2024

Scott Kirby
Chief Executive Officer
United Airlines
233 S Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60606

Dear Mr. Kirby:

We write to request your attendance at an upcoming meeting, hosted by Members of the Illinois
Congressional Delegation, with U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, as
well as the City of Chicago and American Airlines, to discuss the Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
Terminal Area Plan (TAP).

Completion of this project, including the 25 percent increase in gate capacity promised within
the original agreement, is essential not only for Chicago, but for Illinois, the region, and for the
national aviation system. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates enplanements at
O’Hare will grow from 32.6 million in 2022 to 71.9 million by 2050.

The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly has posed challenges, including delays and inflation, for
all projects, to which TAP has not been immune. However, with the project at only 30 percent
design, there is still ample room for design modifications to cut costs consistent with the
parameters agreed to by the parties in 2018 TAP agreement. In addition, enactment of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law No. 117-58) increases the amount of federal
funding available for projects like TAP.

As you recall, the City of Chicago and air carriers, with critical federal support, recently
completed a 16-year, $6 billion O’Hare Modernization Program (OMP) which rebuilt and
revamped the airport’s runways. Like TAP, that project was not without its challenges.
Ultimately, then-U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood convened all public
and private ORD stakeholders and helped broker an agreement and secure additional federal
investment to get the project over the finish line.

We look forward to meeting with all parties to discuss TAP, and to ensure that ORD not only
preserves its place as a world-class airport for decades to come, but that it has the capacity it
needs to do so.

Please contact Brigid Paulson at brigid_paulson@duckworth.senate.gov in Senator Duckworth’s

office to share dates and times for your availability.

Sincerely,
Tammy Duckworth Richard J. Durbin
Chair United States Senator
Subcommittee on Aviation
Safety, Operations and
Innovation
Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and
Transportation